More than four years after first setting foot on campus as a prospective student, I am a decidedly different person. Although I did fall victim to some version of the freshman 15, the changes are not physical. Rather, an immeasurable amount of personal growth over the years allows me to attest to the old adage – College days really are the best days of our lives.
I was not Susie high school – friends were abundant, but I was not a Homecoming queen; grades were high, but I was not a valedictorian. I spent time counting down the days until graduation and planning my escape to a new school, a new city and a new start. I embarked on my college life with a mix of nerves and excitement, uncertain of my future but certain of my choice to attend SMU.
Without any leadership experience or community involvement in high school, I let much of my first year pass without being involved on campus. The first year was a whirlwind of meeting new people, going to parties, adjusting to Dallas and writing the occasional paper. Living in Boaz Hall kept me connected, but a move off campus sophomore year meant I would need to make a new effort if I wanted to stay a part of the SMU community.
A job in the Student Activities Center gave me the bug and I began applying for various organizations. A typical sophomore student, I applied for surface level positions in many organizations. Eventually, I found my niche with Student Foundation and New Student Programs and dove in. With involvement in student organizations came a greater passion for SMU and a greater immersion in the community I have been calling home for almost four years.
Leadership positions on campus offered me a variety of experiences. There were obvious benefits: more bullet points for the resume and a leg up in interviews and internship and job searches. But, the less obvious benefits are the ones that made me who I am today.
Commitment to a select few organizations left me pouring time and energy into campus projects like Family Weekend, Celebration of Lights and orientation programs, sacrificing studying hours at times, but never sacrificing experiences, for these were the experiences that shaped my time at SMU. Like so many students before me and many more to come, the third floor of Hughes-Trigg became my home – not my home away from home, but my home. I worked there, ate there, studied there, and even slept there on occasion.
In the midst of trying to plan a program, go to organizational meetings, keep track of budgets and all the other duties that come with student involvement, I thought the work we were doing was what was important. Looking back, the work was more of a tool to get me from the student I came to SMU as to the person I am today. I will walk away with valuable skills from the work, but more importantly, I am walking away significantly more confident, vocal and independent – traits I now consider central and valuable to who I am as a person and traits I acquired through the people I worked with over the years.
The real impact of college on my life has not been merely the education. Sure, I am grateful for the education I have received and the professors I have had over the years, but I am indebted to the experiences I gained through the people I met and the out-of-classroom experiences SMU offered me.
In a little more than a month, I will drive away from SMU a changed person. As I think back on the most important and influential moments in college, there is a common theme: people – friends to go out with, mentors who helped me grow into the person I am today, roommates, life-long friends, people I respect and people who showed me who I do not want to be. As I drive away from campus, I am sure I will think back on the person that I was when I arrived. The end will be bittersweet. I am sad to see this chapter close but excited to start a fresh one as the new me – a product of the people I’ve met and experiences with which SMU provided me.
About the writer:
Susan Carmody is a senior journalism major. She can be reached at [email protected].
